Ford makes peace with the Canadian Auto Workers Union. IN a recent development Ford Motors have agreed to the outline a tentative three-year contract with the Union. The Massive Economics Offer (MEO) will form the outline of this new contract, which will be applicable until mid-September 2011. This is a record-making deal and has been signed nearly 5 months before the expiry of the prevalent one.

The deal avoids changes in base wages and has in effect frozen wages and has cut vacation pay. The deal is said to affect over 8000 Canadian autoworkers. It also sets the stage for further job cuts in a clause which includes “improved restructuring benefits” and takes it a step further with its “commitment to explore and establish a pre-funded, off-balance-sheet Retiree Health Benefit Fund.” This basically shifts the onus of providing for pension plans from the company to the workers union.
 
The deal even defies the two-tier wage system wherein new hires earned precious little as compared to older employees. Now new hires will start work at 70 percent of the top wage. The basic deal covers wages, benefits and pensions.
 
With Canadian dollar at par with the US dollar, Canadian workers are surely losing out. CAW workers must ratify the agreement with Ford. CAW has already started a drive to coerce CAW Ford workers to approve of this MEO.

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Ford Kuga is all set to show its capabilities for the first time in Europe at the Geneva Motor Show as it enters the very widely competitive European Vehicle Market.  The car seems to be promising because of its on-road driving performance and an astonishing off-road attracting ability.

The European Focus and C-MAX are manufactured based on Ford’s C-car platform. The Ford Kuga is made available with both front-wheel-drive system as well as all-wheel-drive system. It has an all wheel drive Haldex intelligent system. The Ford Kuga is equipped with a Ford’s 2.0 liter Duratorq TDCi technology that is capable of producing a horsepower of  136 and torque of 236 lb-ft. It also has a six-speed manual transmission.

The fashionable and magnetic Kuga is an additional demonstration of the thrilling new direction which Ford products are taking in Europe. This kind of advanced styling is just the starting point of the carmaker responding to the customer’s needs. In Kuga, this is given by most effective driving dynamics, a safety system which is well-built and competitive and a very good quality of external and internal body. The seats of Kuga are positioned high; it has an intelligent AWD option and also a large storage space which make Kuga a very attractive proposition.

The storage space of Kuga is of 758 mm in height which supports the storage of bulky things into the car. When in two seat mode, Kuga has a storage capacity of 1355 liters and when in four seat mode it has a storage capacity of 360 liters.

Source: carleasingnews.net

Website collected information from engelwooddaily.com

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Here are some key things to keep in mind when you go for a lease transfer of a car.

• Contact your leasing agency to make sure it permits lease assumptions or lease transfers. The former probably does not advertise the fact, but may well allow it after a certain period of time. Still, it makes sense to check!
• Find someone ready to take on your lease. Check with your acquaintances, relatives and friends. You may advertise on the web. Internet is the cheapest and the most effective medium that facilitates lease transfer.
• Have the buyer fill a credit application. When the leasing firm approves the application, it will give transfer documents to you and also the lessee-to-be to sign.
• Hand over your former leased car to the new lessee formally, who then starts making the remaining payments.
• At the end of the lease, the new lessee will return the vehicle to the leasing firm (or might have the option to purchase it, depending on the firm).
• Ensure the person has necessary permission for a lease transfer. Find a dependable and reliable person to take on lease.
• Remember, lease transfer is not the same as a sublease. Subleasing a car is not always permitted.

Source: carleasingnews.net

Website collected information from Engelwood Daily

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When you lease a car, you put no or little money down and can choose to drop off the car after a certain period (say, a couple of years) without the hassle of actually selling it. The arrangement is generally convenient.

Keep in mind the fact that you cannot sell a leased car, since you do not hold the title to it. If you want to end a lease, you can transfer the same to another individual and thus, avoid paying the termination penalty as well as remaining payments.

Think of holding a lease akin to making payments on the amount that the car actually depreciates while you happen to possess it. That depreciation is worked out by subtracting the projected value of the car at the end of the lease period (This is termed residual value) from the sticker price (This is termed Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price or MSRP).

For example, if a vehicle with a sticker price of £20,000 has a projected value of £12,000 in about four years, the depreciation is the difference (£8,000 in this case). You will be making payments on this £8,000.

Source: carleasingnews.net

Website collected information from http://www.engelwooddaily.com

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When you opt for car leasing, it is crucial that you go through the lease agreement carefully to check for norms and restrictions as well as to understand any hidden clauses. For example, some leases will not let you take the car out of the country.
 
Most car or van lease agreements will have a section called ‘Early Termination’. Check the terms under this section as it tells what will happen if you decide you do not want the car leasing to continue anymore for whatever reasons.

Generally, you will be needed to pay at least the remaining lease payments apart from a disposition fee and other fees, depending on your lease agreement. Before you sign any papers, ensure that you are aware of these charges and penalties, if any, in case you surrender your lease.
 
Remember that your insurance firm might not pay what is still owed on the vehicle after an unfortunate accident. That is because your car may have depreciated by an amount more than you have paid on the lease. Some leases provide gap insurance to cover the difference.

Source: carleasingnews.net

Website collected information from engelwooddaily.com

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According to a new report, unlike any car company, BMW Group has done a lot to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its vehicles in the past one year. Out of the five improved models, four have come only from the BMW group. BMW-owned Mini is the manufacturer with the lowest CO2 emissions

Clean Green Cars is the pioneer in charting the progress of individual manufacturers on CO2 emissions. It is possibly the biggest challenge faced by the car manufacturing industry today.

The report also states that Mini has cut emissions by more than 10% in the last year. BMW has reduced emissions by a decent 10.96% in the last year. The BMW 6 Series is the only most improved model with CO2 emissions down by a whopping19.42%.

Chevrolet was the worst performer. It showed an average emission rise of more than 7%. Even the other leading marques such as Vauxhall, Kia and Saab failed to improve over their last year’s performance.
Jay Nagley, publisher of Clean Green Cars said that these results showed the difference between the manufacturers who just talk about going green and those who act.

Nagley, a prominent industry analyst had started the concept of Clean Green Cars.

Source: carleasingnews.net

Website collected information from Engelwood Daily

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In the year 2003, the first GTI Pirelli was produced and it sold out 10,500 of its units in just six months. Volkswagen wants to repeat history by launching the new GTI Pirelli.

The 2008 GTI Pirelli has been upgraded with the 2.0-liter T-FSI engine that boosts its power from 200 to 230 horsepower. This modification has reduced GTI Pirelli’s 0-60-mph time from 7.2 seconds to fewer than 6.8 which can take the top speed from 146 to 152 mph.

As expected, extra attention has been paid on the wheels, in the Pirelli limited edition. Five-spoke 18-inch wheels have been fixed with a set of 225/40R18 Pirelli P Zero tires. Body-color pieces including the front splitter, side skirts and rear bumper, are the new external features. It also has been adorned with smoked taillights and tinted rear windows. Pirelli budging adorns the trunk.

On the inside, you can see the tire theme continue. The seats, handbrake along with the wheel have an accented yellow stitching. The seats which are in half leather also have inserts in a tire-tread pattern.

 The GTI Pirelli is especially for the U.K. The orders are being taken now for delivery in June. The three-door model with a six-speed manual gearbox has been priced for $44,675 and the five-door equipped with a six-speed gearbox for $48,300.

Source: carleasingnews.net

Website collected information from http://www.engelwooddaily.com

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The year 2009 will witness a refreshed version of the European A3 line-up. It features stylish exterior with all new S tronic dual-clutch gearbox, and S3 Sport-back five-door variant.

The A3 has slightly been stretched. Some external features include more expressive front fenders and modified front grille that retains the same basic shape. A headlamp “wing” brings more definition to the anterior end, while the tailgate has been revised and fibre optic rod on the tail light. The modifications have increased the length of the rear door by an inch. The new aluminium trim and improved control switches emphasizes on Audi’s sports elegance theme. The A3 offers six-speed, dual-clutch S tronic transmission with every engine option, and the new seven-speed S tronic gearbox is available with the 1.4-, 1.6, and 1.8-liter TFSI engines. Even the magnetic ride suspension system is available optionally on both three- and five-door versions of the A3. It allows a change in ride characteristics at the flick of a button.

Moreover, five-door fanatics will be delighted to see the S3 Sportback on the model catalogue. It is equipped with the same 265 horsepower, 2.0-litre and TFSI four-cylinder engine as found on the three-door variant. All S3 models will also offer a six-speed manual transmission.

Source: carleasingnews.net

Website collected information from engelwooddaily.com

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Ferrari has entered into an agreement to start the first Ferrari Store in United Kingdom.The Percassi Group, which also owns the Ferrari store in Milan, will be managing the Ferrari store. The store will be located on Regent Street, which is considered as one of the most exclusive avenues in London. The two-leveled store will cover around 550 square metres.

As planned, the Ferrari Store is scheduled to open in this coming autumn. The entire range of Prancing Horse products will be stocked. It will be mainly aimed at the Formula 1 fans, GT enthusiasts, collectors and children. The store is also being designed to “enlighten, inform and entertain” its visitors.

This agreement is another important event that is crucial in the worldwide development plan of the Prancing Horse’s Ferrari Store. United Kingdom is one of the most important European markets for the store. At present, there are about 20 outlets in the retail chain of Ferrari. Almost half of them are outside the home country i.e. Italy. Ferrari has stores in US, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Macao, China and Spain.

The Ferrari Store in Milan that opened in September 2005 is owned by the Percassi Group. The group is one of the biggest retail players in Italy as well as internationally

Source: carleasingnews.net

Website collected information from Engelwood Daily

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General Motors Corp’s global head of sales, John Middlebrook is slated to retire on July 1st . The man taking over the reigns from him is Jonathan Browning, who is currently the head of Sales in Europe. He will take over effective from 1st June.

John Middlebrook has worked for GM for nearly a half century; and as head of sales had worked at co-coordinating GM’s global sales and market strategies, working directly under GM’s main man, CEO Rick Wagoner. Rick Wagoner appreciated John Middlebrook’s “tremendous contributions to GM”, over the span of his 49 year long tenure which, he said, made Middlebrook “respected and admired throughout the industry as a true sales and marketing professional”.

Jonathan Browning, Europe’s head of sales and marketing since 2001, was credited by Rick Wagoner to have been mainly responsible for making GM the fastest growing manufacturer in Europe.

The opening made in the Europe Head of Sales position, left vacant now due to the promotion of Jonathan Browning, will be filled by Brent Dewar, who currently heads field sales, service and parts operation for GM in North America. Brent Dewar, who has been with GM for close to 30 years, has worked with GM in various capacities, including global marketing responsibility for Chevrolet and head of sales and marketing for GM in Brazil. Dewar will now report to GM’s Europe President Carl-Peter Forster.

Source: carleasingnews.net

Website collected information from http://www.engelwooddaily.com

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